Namesake
by hullosweetpea
Summary: Like all children, the youngest Barton wanted to know why he was named Nathaniel Pietro. Like all fathers, Clint has an answer in the form of a story.


**A/N: It's almost been a week, but I can't stop the ideas from watching Age of Ultron. Spoilers obviously lie below. The moment I saw Clint's baby wearing that bib on Natasha's phone I knew I had to write this story. Having an unordinary middle name had to have raised some question from the youngest of the Barton clan. I hope you all enjoy!**

Namesake

"Daddy?"

Clint looked up from his book and saw his youngest son in front of him. "What is it?"

Nathaniel climbed up in the chair with Clint, slightly squishing him. "Why am I named Nathaniel? What would you and Mommy have named me if I was a girl?"

Clint smiled and poked Nathaniel's chest, right over his heart. "Well, you know Auntie Nat."

"Uh-hun."

"Well do you know her full name?"

Nathaniel cocked his head and thought for a bit. "Romanoff?"

Clint laughed. "You're close. That's her last name. Her first name is Natasha."

"Oh."

"So, if you were a girl, your name would have been Natasha. She was rooting for it the whole time your mommy was pregnant."

"So that's why my name is Nathaniel?"

"Yep kiddo."

Clint picked Nathaniel up and sat him back down on the floor so he could walk to the kitchen. Nathaniel followed and tugged on Clint's pant leg. He looked down and smiled. He picked him up and set him on the counter. "You got another question, kiddo?"

"Unhuh, why is my middle name Pet...Pitr...Piet-," said Nathaniel, struggling to pronounce the name properly.

"Pietro," filled in Clint.

"Yeah," confirmed Nathaniel with a smile.

Clint gave him a wistful smile and pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly.

Nathaniel kicked his feet against the counter. "Was he a person you know like Auntie Nat, or did you just think it sounded cool? 'Cause I think it sounds cool."

Clint pulled out a knife and a spoon. He thought about how to word his reply as he pulled out bread. "You remember Aunt Wanda, right?"

He squinted. "She's the brown haired lady who wears lots of red."

"Yeah."

Nathaniel frowned. "I miss her. When will she come by again?"

Clint sat his utensils down. "She's an Avenger, bud. She gets busy."

"But Auntie Natasha's an Avenger and she visits me."

"That's because she is semi-retired, so she can spend time with Uncle Bruce. She'll only go out in the field again if new Avengers need training or the sky is puking aliens."

Nathaniel laughed at the analogy his father made. "Are you semi-retired? Are you only going to fight if the sky is puking aliens?"

"Maybe, but only if they really need me. I promised Mommy I wouldn't go on any other missions."

"Oh, so then why is my middle name Pietro?"

"Well, Aunt Wanda had a brother. A twin brother. They were very close."

"So he would be my uncle," announced Nathaniel proudly at figuring it out.

Clint smeared peanut butter on a slice of bread. "Right, like Uncle Bruce and Uncle Tony.

"Is that crunchy peanut butter?"

"No."

"Good, the crunchy bits get stuck in my teeth."

"Anyway, Aunt Wanda had a brother and his name was Pietro," continued Clint.

Nathaniel beamed. "Just like my name."

Clint spooned some jelly onto the other piece of bread. "Yep, that's where it came from."

Nathaniel frowned in thought. "But why did you choose to name me after him? And why haven't I met him? If he's like Aunt Wanda he must be really cool."

Clint stayed silent as he put the two slices together. "You know that being an Avenger is a dangerous job."

"Unhuh."

Clint cut the sandwich in have and gave one half to Nathaniel while he kept the other half. "The last time I fought with your aunts and uncles, Aunt Wanda and Uncle Pietro were new. They had just come out of HYDRA's experiments and they were young and scared."

Nathaniel bit into his sandwich, listening intently to Clint's story.

"They were fighting against us at the very beginning. Your Uncle Pietro was fast. So fast I couldn't hit him with my arrows."

"Nuhuh," he said, shocked.

"No it's true, but then they left the other side and joined us. During the final battle we were able to get the innocent out of the way by sending them on smaller airships. I was about to board one when a woman said her child was still in danger. I saw him trapped under a part of a building so I ran out to save him. That was when the bad guys starting shooting at us again and we weren't going to make it in time so I made sure to cover the kid. The next thing I knew Pietro ran out and pushed us out of the way, but the bad guys got him."

Nathaniel put down his crust. "That's sad. Was Aunt Wanda okay afterwards?"

Clint shook his head. "No, she was really sad for a long time."

Nathaniel looked at his crust and then back at Clint. "Daddy?"

"What?"

"When can I see Aunt Wanda again?"

Clint gave his son a confused look. "Why?"

"'Cause I think she needs a hug. It's probably hard for her to see me if I remind her of her brother."

Clint shook his head. "Nathaniel, that's not the point. The point of naming someone after someone else is to carry a legacy, to make sure the other person is remembered. It's a good thing."

"So Aunt Wanda's okay?"

Clint smiled. "Yeah, it took her awhile to get used to it, but she thanked your mom and me later one time when she was staying. You were only a baby then."

"Can I still give her a hug?"

Clint ruffled his little boy's hair. "Course kiddo, she loves your hugs."

"Thank you," said Nathaniel.

"For what?"

"For letting me carry a legacy, so nobody forgets."

Clint looked at his youngest son and smiled. "It's because I knew you could."


End file.
